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2008/2009 PCI-E 1.1 x16 graphics card reccomendations?

S

ScanDisk

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Niagara Falls, Canada Eh?
I have recently resurrected my father's old computer from the end of the 2000's (PSU says 2009 on it, and the megaware company that built the case went defunct in 2009 as well).

it's decent:

Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHZ
500GB HDD
4GB RAM
Radeon 3450 512MB
DVD burner
and I just installed Windows XP Professional SP3 on it.

Only thing that doesn't work is the front panel headphone and mic jacks, but I don't use those, and all the audio ports on the back work, so I don't really care much. Device Manager never even recognized them, so since I don't know what the front panel audio is, the chances of getting drivers are slim.

That's not the point though.

I am wanting to turn this into a decent late 2000's gaming machine, I think I already have enough RAM, and the processor is decent as well (though a Quad would be better of course) so I am really just looking for the best video card from 2008/9 I can get without paying an absolute fortune.

Thing is the PCI-E x 16 slot is just 1.1, so I don't know how much better I can get within these constraints, I was only 14 in 2009, just starting high school and I wasn't paying attention to things like this back then. I'm doing some research on google as well, but if anyone here has recommendations, I'll check them out too.

I am trying to make this into
 
What's the rating on that power supply? Does it have extra power connectors for video cards? You'll need to know this otherwise there is a risk of power-hungry high-end cards exceeding the limits of the power supply. Cards that need more than 70W also need an extra power cable, although it's possible to use an adaptor connected to a spare molex if the power supply doesn't have the exact cable.

In theory, cards that support a newer PCIe spec can still work in a PCIe 1.1 slot. I'm not sure if that is an issue. As a point of reference, I will say that I have a GTX 650 Ti plugged into my motherboard from 2008 even though this is a PCIe 3.0 card. (And I am rather fond of it because the card has surprisingly low power consumption at idle, only around 8W or so. Peak power is 110W which is not bad for the performance)
 
No specific rating, but it's 480W, and doesn't have anything else connected but a DVD drive, and a hard drive, and of course mobo and all those things.

I am thinking a Radeon 4870 because I read there's not much difference in performance between a 4870 in a 2.0 slot, and a 1.1 x16 slot.

i will surely need a molex adapter.
 
The PS should have the amp rating per voltage.

There are plenty of old power supplies that were made for P4/Athlon systems that do not have the 12V rating to run a gamer card on (they were heavy 5V).

You can actually run plenty of PCIE 2x cards in a x8 slot and still get most of the speed from it, x4 is where things fall apart, so full x16 will be fine on PCIE 1.0.
 
Thanks, I looked up my mobo, ASUS has all the drivers, and I installed them (everything but the BIOS and utilities), but the chipset and everything else is installed. It's a P5KPL-AM SE.

I did score a nice 1440x900 60hz monitor at goodwill today with a manufacture date of December 2008, for only $15 Canadian, and it works, and cleaned up good. I think it's something like 22"-24" (haven't measured it yet).

I did look at my PSU it seems it does have 12V, here's the sticker:

84090353_10217083584905946_270383034690174976_n.jpg


87266706_608512626396846_4392670019503259648_n.jpg
 
Using this:

https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

The system you specced in the original post would need 266W and recommends a 316W power supply.

Usage is as follows:
+3.3v 8.6A
+5V 12.1A
+12V 14.7A

The power supply you have listed is an old generic one heavy on the 5V and low on the 12V and is already maxed out with the GPU you currently have.
 
Looking at the system, you could probably get by with a mid-range Radeon 5xxx or 6xxx card. The Radeon 3450 uses a lot of power relative to its limited performance while the later designs were much more efficient.

Getting a new power supply might be prudent. 10 years on a no name brand is pushing longevity.
 
I ran my system through that calc and it recommended a 312 W psu, but there was lots of minor things we probably did different.

I do have this PSU currently unused from my current machine before I upgraded it with a new PSU and a GTX 1060 6GB for 1080p gaming a year ago.

It's from about 2014, and seems heavier on the 12V rail, and it also has 2 six pin connectors, and a bunch of sata, only downside is no molex, but I assume if you can get molex to sata adapters, you can get the other way as well?

When I changed the card in the calculator to a 4870, it recommended a 409W PSU, so this seems ok to me.

Maybe I can just use this? 460W

89356799_10217084340644839_1185522471047004160_n.jpg
 
krebizfan said:
Looking at the system, you could probably get by with a mid-range Radeon 5xxx or 6xxx card. The Radeon 3450 uses a lot of power relative to its limited performance while the later designs were much more efficient.

Getting a new power supply might be prudent. 10 years on a no name brand is pushing longevity.
Click to expand...

I searched and the HD 3450 uses 25W max, how is that a lot of power? It doesn't even need a 6 pin PCIE power plug.
 
ScanDisk said:
I ran my system through that calc and it recommended a 312 W psu, but there was lots of minor things we probably did different.

I do have this PSU currently unused from my current machine before I upgraded it with a new PSU and a GTX 1060 6GB for 1080p gaming a year ago.

It's from about 2014, and seems heavier on the 12V rail, and it also has 2 six pin connectors, and a bunch of sata, only downside is no molex, but I assume if you can get molex to sata adapters, you can get the other way as well?

When I changed the card in the calculator to a 4870, it recommended a 409W PSU, so this seems ok to me.

Maybe I can just use this? 460W

89356799_10217084340644839_1185522471047004160_n.jpg
Click to expand...

DELL supplies are junk. A decent 500W supply is recommended for the HD4870 (you need 2x6 pin PCIE power connectors), 600W if you crossfire them.

Also that DELL has 3x12V rails you are better off with a supply with 1 large 12V rail.
 
@Agent Orange,

I am considering, the 9600GT as an option as well, however it seems that I need a better PSU, but I am having rouble finding affordable one's with 2 six pin PCIE connectors, and sata connectors, a molex connector would be nice for the DVD drive, because it uses IDE for data and molex for power, but I could use a sata to molex adapter for power if needed of course.

I guess that now that I am going to be buying a new PSU too, (500W), people are free to recommend me any good GPUs from 2008 and 2009, and I will chose the PSU I buy based on the type of connection the GPU I choose needs.
 
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Well, the card came in today, a day early, all in box and with everything included, including the driver disc, accessories, manual, and even sticker to put on your computer.

However the front panel on the computer requires a molex connector too. I was going to just temporarily use an external DVD drive till I could get a sata to molex adapter, but that won't work now, so going to get a couple tomorrow, and then do the installation of both the PSU and the card.

88997503_10217118820946825_7819513906883198976_n.jpg
 
What are you talking about? That PSU has:
1 x 24 pin ATX
1 x 8 pin (4 + 4) EPS for the motherboard
2 x 8 pin (6+2) PCIE
6 x SATA
3 x 4 pin peripheral
1 x floppy connector
 
I mean the DVD drive, and the front panel, do not use SATA they use molex for power, so I need to get 2 adapters, to turn 2 of the "6 x SATA" into molex.

I tried to do the installation today, because even though the internal DVD drive won't have power until I can get an adapter, I have an external one I can use for now. However I also discovered that there is power going to the front panel through Molex, I don't know exactly what it is going to, but I don't think it's something I can find a temporary work around for. That's why I am needing the adapters before I replace anything.
 
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